{"id":58238,"date":"2026-02-04T09:38:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T13:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-react-to-weak-us-jobs-steepening-yield-curve-and-escalating-china-eu-tensions-abbvie-exceeds-q4-expectations\/58238\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T09:38:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T13:38:25","slug":"global-markets-react-to-weak-us-jobs-steepening-yield-curve-and-escalating-china-eu-tensions-abbvie-exceeds-q4-expectations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-react-to-weak-us-jobs-steepening-yield-curve-and-escalating-china-eu-tensions-abbvie-exceeds-q4-expectations\/58238\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Markets React to Weak US Jobs, Steepening Yield Curve, and Escalating China-EU Tensions; AbbVie Exceeds Q4 Expectations"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>US private sector job growth significantly underperformed in January<\/strong>, with ADP reporting a mere <strong>22,000 new jobs<\/strong>, well below the 45,000 estimate and December&#39;s 41,000.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>US yield curve has steepened to its most pronounced level in four years<\/strong>, with the 2- and 10-year Treasury yield gap widening to approximately <strong>69 basis points<\/strong>, driven by concerns over mounting debt and anticipated policy shifts.<\/li>\n<li><strong>AbbVie (<a href=\"\/stock\/ABBV\">ABBV<\/a>) delivered robust Q4 2025 earnings<\/strong>, surpassing revenue and adjusted EPS estimates and providing an optimistic outlook for 2026 adjusted EPS.<\/li>\n<li><strong>China has issued strong warnings to the European Union<\/strong>, vowing &quot;necessary actions&quot; to protect its companies amidst an EU subsidy probe, accusing Brussels of undermining investment confidence.<\/li>\n<li><strong>AT&amp;T (<a href=\"\/stock\/T\">T<\/a>) is expanding its high-capacity fiber network<\/strong> to connect Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers, enhancing critical infrastructure for cloud and AI services.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Economic Data Signals Slowdown Amidst Steepening Yields<\/h3>\n<p>The latest economic data from the United States paints a picture of decelerating private sector job growth. The <strong>ADP National Employment Report<\/strong> for January revealed a modest increase of just <strong>22,000 jobs<\/strong>, a significant miss compared to economists&#39; expectations of 45,000 and a sharp decline from December&#39;s revised figure of 41,000. This indicates a weaker-than-anticipated start to the year for the labor market. While education and health services saw notable gains, sectors like manufacturing and professional and business services experienced a slowdown.<\/p>\n<p>Concurrently, the <strong>US yield curve has reached its steepest point in four years<\/strong>, with the spread between 2-year and 10-year Treasury yields widening to around <strong>69 basis points<\/strong>. This steepening reflects <em>growing investor apprehension<\/em> regarding rising national debt, potential inflationary pressures, and shifts in monetary policy, particularly ahead of upcoming Treasury bond auctions. The 10-year Treasury note yield rose to 4.28% on February 4, 2026.<\/p>\n<h3>Corporate Highlights: AbbVie Shines, AT&amp;T Expands<\/h3>\n<p>In corporate news, pharmaceutical giant <strong>AbbVie (<a href=\"\/stock\/ABBV\">ABBV<\/a>)<\/strong> reported strong financial results for the fourth quarter of 2025, exceeding analyst expectations. The company announced <strong>net revenue of $16.62 billion<\/strong>, outperforming the estimated $16.42 billion, and <strong>adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.71<\/strong>, higher than the $2.65 consensus. Looking ahead, AbbVie also provided an optimistic adjusted EPS guidance for 2026, projecting <strong>$14.37 to $14.57<\/strong>, which is above the analyst estimate of $14.22. <em>Strong performance in its immunology and neuroscience portfolios<\/em> was cited as a key driver, successfully offsetting the anticipated decline in Humira sales due to biosimilar competition.<\/p>\n<p>Telecommunications leader <strong>AT&amp;T (<a href=\"\/stock\/T\">T<\/a>)<\/strong> announced plans to bolster its high-capacity fiber network by connecting <strong>Amazon Web Services (AWS)<\/strong> data centers. This strategic move is part of AT&amp;T&#39;s broader initiative to expand its fiber footprint, targeting <strong>40 million customer locations across the United States by the end of 2026<\/strong>. The expansion is crucial for supporting the increasing demand for cloud services and high-bandwidth <strong>AI workloads<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3>China-EU Tensions Escalate Over Trade Practices<\/h3>\n<p>Geopolitical tensions are escalating between China and the European Union as China issued a series of strong rebukes against the EU&#39;s trade practices. Beijing has <strong>vowed to adopt &quot;necessary actions&quot; to safeguard the interests of its companies<\/strong> in response to an ongoing EU subsidy probe. China urged the EU to &quot;correct its mistake&quot; regarding the investigation, which it views as protectionist.<\/p>\n<p>Chinese officials have also <strong>accused the EU of hurting the investment confidence of Chinese companies<\/strong> operating within the bloc. These statements come as the EU considers measures to phase out &quot;high-risk&quot; foreign telecom suppliers and has launched anti-subsidy investigations into various Chinese industries, which China&#39;s Ministry of Commerce has called &quot;egregious&quot; and discriminatory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways US private sector job growth significantly underperformed in January, with ADP reporting a mere 22,000 new jobs, well 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